SURREY Mayor Doug McCallum said on Tuesday that he wholeheartedly supports a handgun ban for the City of Surrey.

“I am directing staff to immediately begin work on a bylaw for Council approval as quickly as possible,” he added.

He pointed out: “As we have seen with the recent surge in shootings and deaths due to the Lower Mainland gang conflict, gun violence has been a scourge in our region. The new legislation announced today by Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau gives municipalities the ability to take direct action on banning handguns.”

McCallum said: “I want to commend the Prime Minister for creating new legislation that will give municipalities the ability to ban handguns locally with the added weight of federal penalties, such as criminal sanctions, for those who are caught violating the ban.”